NUR-SULTAN

Turkey’s TAV Airports bought an international airport in Kazakhstan’s second biggest city of Almaty and plans to invest $200 million in expanding its capacity, the Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund said.

Almaty airport is the 15th in TAV Airports’s portfolio and the first which the company will manage on the basis of ownership. The Turkish company bought 85 percent of the airport’s shares in related enterprises that provide services for the supply of fuel and catering for $365 million. The remaining 15 percent will be owned by the Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund, which is managed by VPE Capital and supported by Kazyna Capital Management.

The consortium will pay the state an additional $50 million over the coming years, depending on the recovery of air traffic to pre-pandemic levels.

“We are proud to be part of this important project, which is attracting over $600 million in foreign capital along with international best practices to a key infrastructure asset,” Ainur Kuatova, Kazyna Capital Management (KCM) CEO, said.

“For every dollar that KCM invests, foreign partners invest more than $20,” she added.

TAV intends to invest $200 million in the construction of a new international terminal that will double the airport’s capacity and serve more than 14 million passengers per year. The investment is scheduled to be completed in less than three years.

TAV said that it had received approval from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance 50 percent of the acquisition and 100 percent of investments in the new terminal using a loan. Funding is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

“We are pleased to add to our portfolio the Almaty airport, which is the main transit hub between Asia and Europe,” Sani Shener, TAV Airports CEO, said.

“Kazakhstan is the largest country in the region both geographically and economically, and Almaty is the largest city in the country, producing 20 percent ​​of Kazakhstan’s GDP,” he said.

Almaty international airport is a regional cargo hub for 26 passenger and eight cargo airlines serving multiple destinations and a base of the national air carrier Air Astana. Besides Air Astana, Almaty airport is used by Bek Air, SCAT Airlines and Qazak Air as well as many international carriers.

In 2019, the airport served 6.4 million passengers, which is 13 percent more than a year earlier. The airport posted a net profit in 2020, despite a drop in traffic to 3.6 million due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TAV Airports provides comprehensive services in all areas of airport operations, with a global presence at 91 airports in 26 countries. The company, a member of the ADP Groupe, is part of the leading global airport management platform. TAV operates in airport services, including duty-free shopping, food and beverage, ground handling, information technology, private security and commercial space management through its subsidiaries. The company is listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.